


I (almost) Died In Your Arms Tonight

by Ember360



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Canon Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Violence, Mutual Pining, Near Death Experiences, Protectiveness, Self-Sacrifice (mentioned not explicit), Very Mild Gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:47:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24436906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ember360/pseuds/Ember360
Summary: And hey, you, don't you think it's kinda cuteThat I died right inside your arms tonightThat I'm fine even after I have diedBecause it was in your arms I died-Mother Mother, "Arms Tonite"---The parallels of what went terribly wrong on Mission Imp Hospital and what went terribly wrong on the quest for a magic apple.
Relationships: Argo Keene/Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt
Comments: 14
Kudos: 79





	I (almost) Died In Your Arms Tonight

In Fitzroy's arms lay Argo, who had nearly just died. How could things have gone so horribly? They had been prepared, they'd thought they knew how things were going to go. Go to the hospital, kill some critters, profit! That's all it was. That's all it _should_ have been! 

But life wasn't fair, was it? It wasn't fair that the Thundermen had been roped into whatever the hell was going on here and at their school. It wasn't fair that just as Fitzroy was starting to warm up to the idea of becoming friends with his roommates they were dragged into a perilous situation. It wasn't fair that the Chain Demon had been planted here by some unknown force with an unknown goal. And it wasn't _fair_ that Argo had almost _died_ because of it. Life wasn't fair, and Fitzroy was sick of it. 

A boiling anger rose in his stomach, fierce and unforgiving. Fitzroy pushed it down, knowing that if he lashed out now the only person he would hurt would be the one he was supposed to be looking after. That was the last thing he wanted. Fitzroy frowned at the memory of their ruined human shielding practice, in which his magic had gotten the best of him and he ended up getting a lot of people hurt- Argo most of all. The thought of his own actions, despite not being intentional, sickened him.

Argo moved around a bit in Fitzroy's arms, but his eyes remained closed. The genasi winced in pain and his movement stopped, reduced to only his sharp breathes. The gash lining his chest where Terrance had struck him had stopped bleeding thanks to the potion, but the wound itself was still open and bloody. Fitzroy's stomach dropped at the sight of it. It made Fitzroy's own wounds, however serious, look like child's play.

"Its alright," Fitzroy whispered, and whether he was reassuring himself or his unconscious friend was a mystery. "Our firbolg friend is off getting help. He'll get a cleric or- or something and then we'll be good as new." Fitzroy knew that his words were false, to an extent. Argo's wound would no doubt leave a scar, and so would some of his. Not to mention the emotional scars. Fitzroy wondered if there would ever be a night where he wasn't haunted by the sting of metal against his skin, the feeling of his righteous and total rage dissolving into sheer and utter panic, or the image of his friend's eyes clouding over as he crumpled to the ground with the joyous life that had once filled him quickly draining away. 

Fitzroy stared down at Argo's face. His agony had been replaced by a blank calm once Fitzroy had given him the medicine, which Fitzroy was grateful for. He didn't think he could bear to watch his sidekick in pain for an extended amount of time. He felt a bit guilty at his hesitation in giving Argo the last vile of healing potion, but at least he'd made the right choice in the end. If he had consumed the medicine himself, and Argo had... No, no. It was best not to think about that. Everything was alright now, they were going to live. Argo was going to live. Fitzroy found it strange how comforting that rather simple thought was.

It's funny how a moment that only lasts a few minutes can turn your worldview upside down. A semester ago, Fitzroy had wanted fancy crepes and a nice room to himself. A month ago, all he wanted was for people to use his full title, Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt. A week ago, he had just wanted to be placed in the right track. And now all he asked for was the ability to stay alive. When did his standards get so pitifully low? Crepes and cloaks and titles had become a luxury beyond his reach, and he feared that soon safety would be the same. Someone had sent the Chain Devil, someone had planned for this to happen to them. Anger rose in him as he thought of someone planning their demise, along with something else... Fear. Fitzroy Maplecourt was afraid, and he hated it.

Suddenly, Argo's rhythmic breathing hitched and came to a stop. Fitzroy looked down at him in confusion. His sidekick's expression was soft and unreadable, and there was barely any sign he was still alive. Panic shot through Fitzroy as he pulled Argo's face closer in a desperate attempt to find the pulse along his neck. Eventually, he located the soft thumping underneath his friend's skin and breathed a shaky sigh of relief. Argo remained still and uncharacteristically quiet, and Fitzroy's heart ached. He held Argo a bit closer, and if he concentrated hard enough he could feel the small, slow rising motion of his chest. 

"I'm sorry," Fitzroy whispered, even though he knew Argo couldn't hear him. "I'm sorry this happened to you. But I- we need you to stay here, okay? You can't leave, please." He knew his words were vulnerable, but he didn't care because he _meant_ them. Fitzroy had become fond of his sidekicks, both of them, and he didn't know what he'd do without them. He couldn't imagine not waking up to Argo's grin and playful demeanor, and he didn't want to. He used to despise the way the genasi teased him, but now just thinking about it made him smile. 

Argo moved, and Fitzroy pulled back bit, so he could look at his face. The rogue's cat-like eyes were half-open now, and he was clearly regaining some level of consciousness. He looked up at Fitzroy, who was staring back intently. "Fitz?" he whispered, and the pain in his voice made Fitzroy's heart plummet. 

"Hey," Fitzroy whispered back, his voice just as soft. "its alright. He's dead, and the Firbolg is getting help, alright?" Argo gave a shallow nod that someone who wasn't paying attention to every movement and detail of his face wouldn't have seen. His eyes drifted away from Fitzroy's face and to his friend's wounds and then his own. 

"D- did I-" Argo hissed in pain as his fingers came in contact with the raw and bloodied flesh on his chest. Fitzroy wanted to rid him of his agony so badly, for watching Argo like this was practically torture. 

"Yeah, almost..." Fitzroy said, averting his eyes from Argo. "But I got you the medicine so you should be fine until whoever the Firbolg's getting arrives. Is there anything I can do for you? Like, uh, some water or something?" He moved to set Argo down, looking towards his friend's bag where there was a canteen and some rations, but Argo stopped him by grabbing his hand. Fitzroy looked down at him, dreary and half-conscious. How could someone who had nearly just died look so beautiful? 

"No," Argo pleaded, "don't leave, I- you..." He trailed off because he didn't need to finish. Fitzroy didn't need an explanation, he was already shifting back to his original position, cradling Argo's head. "You said ya gave me the medicine?" 

Fitzroy nodded. "Yeah. It's no biggy, just the most logical thing to do, you know. I kind of dropped out of my rage, and had to get over here which ended up getting me hit too, but it's fine I can take it." Not really. Fitzroy knew that if he had gotten hit any harder, he'd be in a similar state to Argo. But that hadn't happened, and Fitzroy was fine! ...even if he felt like he was going to pass out in the next ten minutes if a damn healer didn't get here soon. 

"Thank you." 

"What?" 

Argo looked up at Fitzroy, a soft smile spread across his face. The warm adoration in his eyes made Fitzroy's stomach fill with butterflies. Their fingers intertwined and Argo gave his hand a small squeeze. "For saving me," Argo murmured, his other hand brushing Fitzroy's cheek. 

What do you do when you realize you're falling in love with someone? Its a feeling of surprise and giddy awe that rises your chest. It's the feeling of hands brushing softly against one another and the skipping of a heartbeat. It's spoken in stares that they notice and ask "what?" and you say "nothing" but you both know that it's so much more than nothing. It's a soft smile and the exchange of kind words, quiet and tentative. It's waking up and realizing you want to see them, a thought that is new and exciting and warm. It's poetry and sketches hidden in a leather-bound notebook, a song whispered into a quiet wind. But what does one do with all these feelings? 

Fitzroy leaned into Argo's touch, a smile creeping up on his lips. "Of course," he murmured. He wanted to turn his head ever so slightly, to press a soft kiss against Argo's palm that's holding his face so gently, like he's delicate and should be cared for. An hour ago, Fitzroy would've been completely opposed to the idea of being fragile, but now he knows it's the truth. And here, with Argo in his arms, maybe being vulnerable isn't so bad after all.

Argo took a deep breath and moved his hand back down from Fitzroy's face slowly. As his eyes closed, the half-elf gave his hand a small squeeze, a question that asked, "Are you alright? Are you staying with me?". Argo squeezed back in reassurance, and Fitzroy silently chastised himself for the paranoia. 

Fitzroy watched the face of his resting friend. Argo's expression was neither pained or vacant, but rather peaceful; almost in an angelic sense. When had Argo become so handsome, and when had he started to make Fitzroy feel so warm? 

There was clattering sound down the hallway, which made Fitzroy jump a bit. He pulled Argo closer protectively. If whatever was approaching served as a threat, it'd better be prepared to get blasted to smithereens. However, as Fitzroy craned his neck to look around the corner he saw that there were multiple figures approaching, and all of them too tall to be imps. They must be the aid that the Firbolg had gotten for them. 

Argo's eyes fluttered open at the commotion, and Fitzroy gave him a reassuring look. "No need to worry, the little rescue party thing is here now," he informed him. 

Argo leaned his head against Fitzroy's chest, closing his eyes again as he spoke. "Thank you. I owe ya one, don't I?" He laughed a bit, then winced as he was reminded that moving around too much really hurt.

"Yes, we will have to figure out how many jewels and treasures you owe me for this later," Fitzroy joked. 

Argo looked up at him in sincerity, his eyes sparking with a grim determination. "I'm bein' serious, Fitz. You saved my life, so I owe it to you now."

"Oh..." Fitzroy whispered. He had conflicted feelings about this apparent life debt he'd accidentally created, but the sentiment was sweet. The thought of Argo sacrificing himself for him? Not so comforting. 

"You're Fitzroy Maplecourt and Argonaut Keene?" a voice asked as a figure in white clothing approached them. Fitzroy looked up, a bit annoyed at having his tender moment with Argo be interrupted. 

"Who else?" he snapped. Another person approached, a sturdy looking half-orc in similar clothing. The half-orc sat across from Fitzroy and opened her arms, looking down at Argo expectantly. "Right..." Fitzroy looked back at his sidekick for his agreement. Argo stared into Fitzroy's eyes for a moment, before giving him a small nod. The knight shifted the genasi's weight to the outstretched arms of their rescuer, who stood up and turned towards the exit. Fitzroy watched longingly as Argo was taken away from him.

\---

In Argo's arms lay Fitzroy, who had nearly just died. His breathing had returned to normal, a slow and steady pace as he attempted to rest. Althea Song stood above the pair, who were sitting together against a small tree, with Fitzroy's head laying on Argo's shoulder and one of Argo's arms around his back. The closeness made the genasi's heart pound, and he quietly wondered if Fitzroy could hear it.

"Fitzroy, what sort things did you see, were there any clues maybe as to who cursed you, possibly a recurring theme in the visions? If we can identify who set this on you we can make sure that it doesn't happen again by containing them, or ensuring that the curse is really gone-" Althea rambled on, pacing back and forth, too deep in thought to realize just how many questions she was asking all at once. Argo felt kind of bad for her; helping a student not die of a curse probably hadn't been in the job overview. But, mostly, Argo was annoyed.

"Al? Maybe now's not the greatest of times to be asking him a shit-ton of questions, alright?" Argo said, glancing towards Fitzroy, who seemed downright exhausted. The half-elf murmured in agreement and Argo ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to comfort him. "Sh, you just rest, ya hear?" Fitzroy nodded, burying his face in the crook of Argo's neck in the process. Argo's stomach did a flip, and he couldn't help but smile.

Althea cleared her throat. "Right, sorry. I'm just... Concerned. Do you know where Master Firbolg ran off to? I think it would be wise to regroup, possibly share whatever information he found and notify him that Fitzroy is alright and well," she proposed. Argo pointed in the direction where he had last saw him rushing off to, towards the camp belonging to the Centaurs of the Valley. Althea gave him a brisk nod and followed his directions, leaving Argo and Fitzroy alone with a number of curious onlookers.

Argo knew that it was probably best to just let Fitzroy rest right now, but he needed to make sure he was okay. "You doing alright? No more issues with yer breathing?" He hoped not. Watching Fitzroy struggle to breath, having him almost die right beside him... Argo was still shaking slightly, and worry lined his face. He needed Fitzroy to be okay, he needed him to be alright. He couldn't imagine a world without him, and he didn't want to. 

"I think I'm good," Fitzroy murmured. One of Argo's hands still ran through his curls, a calm and grounding motion. His other hand was intertwined with Fitzroy's, softly running his thumb up and down his skin. "I'm sorry if I scared you, Argo." 

"Yeah, but I imagine that it was scarier for you, eh? You're the one who almost..." Argo took a shaky breath. He didn't want to say it out loud, he didn't even want to think about it, but the image of Fitzroy's pained expression was burned into his brain. Fitzroy squeezed his hand a bit in reassurance, and Argo smiled down at him softly. 

"I know," Fitzroy said with a sigh. Even though his pain was gone, the exhaustion in his voice made his friend's heart lurch. Argo turned his head a bit, so his face brushed against Fitzroy's temple softly. He hoped that the intimacy came as a comfort, rather than unwanted. Fitzroy wasn't complaining though, so that was a good sign. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Argo asked tentatively. He didn't want to make Fitzroy talk about something that was no doubt painful, but he knew sometimes talking things out could come as a relief. 

"N- Not really, but..." Fitzroy moved away just a bit so he could look up at Argo. "Argo, what were you doing while I was, uh, incapacitated?" The question came as somewhat of a surprise to the genasi. 

"Well, I was trying to wake you up, of course," Argo said. "I read ya some of my book, talked to ya... I'm sorry I didn't really do much helping, but I tried, I promise." Althea had been the one to wake Fitzroy up, with her wax sealer. Argo had been opposed to the idea of literally burning Fitzroy awake, but Althea had convinced him that it if they didn't act fast there'd be no-one to save. So Argo had hesitantly let her press the stinging hot metal against his friend's neck, making him jolt awake from the searing pain. 

"No, I think you did help, actually," Fitzroy said, his brown eyes locking with Argo's hazel ones. "When I was, having visions, I guess? There was like, a presence, a warmth that I don't remember being there before. It was... nice." Fitzroy's gaze continued to linger on Argo's face as he spoke. 

What do you do when you've fallen in love with someone? It's a feeling of fondness and cheerful excitement. It's the feeling of a head resting on your shoulder and the calm breathing motion of another after a tiring day for the both of you. It's spoken in unapologetic laughter, the kind that tells you that they are unashamed to be themselves around you, that they trust you. It's an enveloping hug and comforting words and a comment about ruining a shirt with tears met with instance that they don't care, all they care about is you. It's a playful punch in the arm and teasing that is dangerously close to flirtation. It's dancing around in places not meant to be danced in, it's singing cheesy love songs while secretly meaning every word. But what does one do with all these feelings?

"I-" Argo started, but he was at a loss for words. And somehow, that was okay. No words needed to be spoken as they stared at each other, one shaking from exhaustion and the other from panic. They were so _close_ , Argo could feel Fitzroy's breath on his face just slightly. He wanted to close his eyes, tilt his head and inch closer, he just wanted to kiss him but he couldn't. Something was stopping him, whether it be confusion or anxiety or indecision. And maybe that was alright too, maybe they didn't need to kiss, maybe they just needed to be _here_ , together; Close.

Eventually, Fitzroy yawned and took a deep breath before resting his head on Argo's shoulder again. His breathing evened out and his friend assumed that he was falling asleep. _Good_ , Argo thought. Fitzroy deserved some quiet rest in his life. He hadn't even realized that half-elves were capable of sleeping, actually. 

Argo looked up and saw that most of the onlookers had dispersed now, with a few stranglers still standing around. Argo shot them a glare, and they looked away, pretending they hadn't been eavesdropping at all. He laughed at this a bit, and started to look back towards Fitzroy when something else caught his eye. More centaurs, about five, were approaching them from the direction of Malwyn's encampment. One of them stopped to talk to a few of the onlookers, who pointed towards Argo and Fitzroy. Then, the party started to advance on them. 

"What?" Argo asked, a bit miffed about all this potentially waking Fitzroy. 

"You know what!" spat the leading centaur, and Argo just now realized the aggressive way they stood, and the glares they were giving them. The centaurs continued to move towards them menacingly. Argo detangled himself from Fitzroy, who whined as Argo's comforting warmth was taken from him. The genasi carefully propped his sleepy friend against the tree and stood up. 

"No, I don't know wha- Would you stop that?" The centaurs did not stop, and they were getting too close for comfort now. Argo drew his rapier from his belt, and they finally hesitated. 

"You are under arrest!" barked the leader. 

"For what?!" Argo retorted, putting his arms out to gesture at the situation. "You think _we_ did something wrong? We've just been sittin' here, almost _dying_ mind you! I don't wanna fight you, so let's just talk this out, eh?" 

The leader sneered and took another step forward. Argo lurched forward a bit, swinging his sword at him in warning. But as he did, another centaur took the opportunity to reach out towards Fitzroy, who Argo had moved away from in the process. 

The centaur that had gone for Fitzroy shouted in pain as Argo's steel sliced open the skin along her arm. She recoiled and looked up at Argo, but the offense in her eyes did nothing to rival the unwavering fury in Argo's. 

"Stay the fuck away from him," Argo hissed. 

It was no secret that Argonaut Keene would die for Fitzroy Maplecourt. They both knew it. Argo would do anything for him, even if it was to the last breath, and today's events had just solidified that. Watching Fitzroy fight an invisable enemy, a curse that was in his head, had been terrible not only because he was hurting but because Argo couldn't help him. There was no enemy to distract, no attack to jump in front of, just an unstoppable, unreachable force that was killing his beloved friend. But here was something he could fight. And Argo would, tooth and claw, until Fitzroy was safe. And if he had to die in order for that to happen, then so be it.

The leader of the centaurs stomped one hoof and grabbed Argo by the collar, but Argo swung again, slicing the fabric and freeing himself. He stepped backward, standing between Fitzroy and their attackers. The half-elf looked up, pulled from his slumber by the chaos around him.

"What the hell?" he asked as Argo parried another attack from the centaurs, who had them completely surrounded now. "What's going on?" 

"Fitzroy," Argo glanced down at him as he readied another strike, but suddenly his whole body froze. He tried to shout or move but he suddenly couldn't. It's a terrible feeling, having your brain tell your body to do something and it refusing. The only part of him that could move were his eyes, which spotted one the centaurs holding a small metal rod which was pointed in his direction. 

One of the centaurs pushed him aside and grabbed Fitzroy by the arm. The barbarian kicked at him, but another attacker grabbed his other arm and soon he was incapacitated. Argo wanted to shout at them to leave his friend alone, to protest and tell them not to hurt him, but he couldn't. He'd thought he could protect Fitzroy, but he couldn't. Argo had failed him. The centaurs were turning on him now, but he didn't care. All Argo could do was watch helplessly as Fitzroy was taken from him.

**Author's Note:**

> and then they got put in gay baby jail 😔
> 
> I've been wanting to write something based on the Hospital incident for a while and the newest episode gave me a perfect opportunity to do some parallels which I find very fun so here it is! Drama time! (Argo have healthier worldviews challenge smh.) Anyways, please stay safe, out there especially if you're protesting <3! Love ya'll, and as always thank you for reading!


End file.
